Meryshen Ahau
by Angel Leviathan
Summary: When they dreamt of a love to last through the ages, they didn't mean it quite so literally.
1. Prologue

Title: Meryshen Ahau

Author: Angel Leviathan

Season: 8, after 'Its Good to Be King'

Spoilers: Anything, everything.

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1, characters, concept, etc, aren't mine

Notes: Yes, I know, another fic to add to the unfinished ones I'm working on. Just humour me. Blame exams and the hours of studying Ancient Egypt. Title means 'Beloved of Eternity, Time' in Ancient Egyptian. AU if it has to be, Janet's alive.

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**Prologue**

* * *

"_I didn't say I didn't trust you to fly this, Sir, I just said-"_

"_You said I could 'do with the practice'…"_

"_Exactly."_

"_Carter, to a guy, that means 'you're crap'."_

_Sam sighed and slouched in her chair, thinking about affecting a sulk, "Fine then, Sir, you want to know the truth?"_

"_I'm going to be offended aren't I?" Jack glanced sideways at her, losing concentration for a moment, wincing when the puddle jumper jerked awkwardly to the right._

_She exhaled slowly, wondering whether she should admit she feared for her life, "With all due respect, Sir, you suck at this."  
"I don't see you flying the Ancient ship," the General shot back, eyes narrowed as he tried to keep the ship in a straight line._

"_Because I can't…"_

"_Ah yes, but I can…"_

"_Genetics, Sir, its all genetics. I've been let down," Sam tried a smile._

"_Carter, if you really didn't want to come along on this trip-"_

"_Training," she corrected him._

"_-Then why did you? I heard you arguing with Daniel as to who drew the short straw this time. I would've been fine on my own," he insisted, "Not that your company is unwelcome, you know, somebody clearly has to mock me…" he grinned._

_Sam looked away for a moment, before she stared at her feet, "…Somebody had to make sure you came back safely…" she said quietly._

_He frowned, "…You can't fly the ship…"_

"_And if something else went wrong, Sir? I'd rather be the one out here trying to solve the problems in vain than worry about somebody else trying to," she tried to change the subject, "Besides, if we lost you, who'd run the SGC with such…flippant grace," she joked._

"_I never knew you cared," Jack offered her a half smile, toning it quickly down to an expression of concentration as he returning his attention to his flight path. With the awkward silence that ensued, he figured he could only make it worse, "…How's Pete?"_

_Sam shifted uncomfortably in her chair, "…Actually…I broke off the engagement…"_

_The ship lurched again, leaving her companion trying to make out that her statement had absolutely nothing to do with the sudden jolt. He coughed loudly, "…I, erm, I'm sorry, Carter. Thought we'd got you married off there."_

_She sighed softly, "…So did I…"_

_He tried to ignore than comment, along with the part of his mind that was wondering why exactly she'd left the guy. He never even named him in his mind, only aloud and when speaking to her, and even though he felt rather disgusted with himself for just thinking of him as 'the other guy' he was quite happy with that. Naming him meant he was there to stay. Though he supposed he would eventually have had to. That, or label him 'Carter's husband'. All that time. All those years of knowing there was something between them and never daring to admit it aloud beyond awkward phrases uttered under duress. What if he had admitted he was in love with her years ago? He had toyed with the idea of just packing everything in and giving it all up just for the chance of happiness. But then, where would that have left them? Or the galaxy? If he was honest, he couldn't even remember when exactly he had fallen in love with her. The feeling had been there so long it was as if it was an integral part of him. Jack decided to silence that section of his mind and concentrate on flying the damned ship that was determined to prove him an incapable pilot. At least, that was what he planned in the few moments before life decided to give him another kick in the head._

_The console before him suddenly blazed brighter, making him blink rapidly in sudden pain, not liking the sudden whine he could hear in the background. If it wasn't in his head…_

"_What's going on?" Sam sat upright in her seat, leaning toward the console, as if she could do something about it._

"_I don't know!" Jack snapped, jumping back as if burnt._

_She glanced back, "…Oh shi-"_

_An ear piercing wail, bright light that overloaded his senses, and a loud noise that sounded suspiciously like an explosion was all he remembered when he woke up, blood caked on his temples, lying prone across the front consoles. _

_Jack twitched his toes and fingers, trying to make sure they were intact, before he decided to move. He glanced out of the front window in bemusement, ignoring the feeling of dread that overtook him, trying not to associate it with the smell of various burnt plastic materials. Couldn't be. He shook his head and at the same moment discovered Sam in an unconscious heap at the foot of her chair. He scrambled across to her, telling himself that the blood running from her head and mouth couldn't mean too much damage… "…Carter…?" he checked her pulse, "Sam…? Sam, wake up…come on, no time for games…wake up…" Jack started to panic, "…Come on, Sam…okay, okay, I admit it, I can't fly this thing properly, you win, wake up…"_

_She finally exhaled audibly, a slight smile gracing her features, "…No…you can't…Sir…"_

_Relief that she still lived warred for dominance with the panic he refused to show. He sat up to look outside again. Some nice yellow sand out there. Lots and lots of it… lots and lots and…well, lots. _

_A shame that, even if they'd crashed in the highly advanced ship, they wouldn't have survived…_

_An even greater shame that, even if they had plummeted to Earth from orbit…they would have hit the water…not a desert…_


	2. Damage Done

"I don't want a statue of Bes! In fact, that's the last thing I want!" she hissed through grit teeth, "What I want is the epidural that's several thousand years into the future that I would have had hours ago!" she snapped.

"They're only trying to help in the only way they knows how," Eleni answered, trying to keep her tone neutral, "If you could speak their language then the women would have been able to help you more…"

"Great, just what I need right now, being told how I'm a failure as a linguist!"

The not quite so human of her two companions sighed, exasperated, "I have told you I can help you, but not until you start co-operating!"

"Calm down, Sam…" an agitated male voice said softly.

"Oh don't you tell me to calm down! This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Jack stared, "It takes two, you know!"

"And apparently only the once!"

"Will you two stop it?" Eleni demanded, "This is not the way to bring a child into the world!"

"This is not the time or the place to bring a child into the world!" Sam cried out as another contraction hit her, "The right time is 2005 and in a hospital…!"

The Ancient woman sighed, "Do you really have such medicines that can take away her pain entirely?"

"Most of it…" Jack answered.

"It is good to know you advance at least that far…"

Sam grit her teeth again and refused to make a sound, knowing any words that escaped her would most likely be a continuous line of curses. If she wasn't so afraid, she admitted, quietly and in the back of her mind, she wouldn't be taking it out on the only two people she trusted to help her. Then again, she supposed, women had been having children for thousands of years without the help of hospitals, and she had seen most of the women in the village with many children. Just because she didn't believe she was going to get through labour without the aid of any of the devices from the future she was longing for, didn't mean it was impossible. She was just another woman after all. Just because she knew there were easier and safer ways to do things, didn't mean she was any closer to getting them.

Ancient Egypt. Ancient freakin' Egypt, as Jack would have said. Two years spent in the desert trying to blend in with the rest of the population (like that was going to happen) and she still couldn't quite believe they were destined to spend the rest of their days there.

She supposed, if she hadn't fallen pregnant, that they could have tried to use the ship to make one of the small jumps Eleni had proposed. She also realised she shouldn't be snapping at the one woman who had any real chance of helping them get home. Eleni had made herself known six months into their stay in the past and had been watching them for a good many weeks beforehand. Jack had been rather sceptical about her story; sent by the other Ancients residing in Greece to report back concerning anything that could signal the arrival of other Goa'uld to take Ra's place. But then she had instantly healed his broken leg, so he had shut up pretty swiftly. She was also the only person they could have any form of proper conversation with, neither of them picking up Ancient Egyptian very quickly, and the only person who would ever believe that they were displaced in time, if only due to the technology of her people.

She was more afraid than she had been in her entire life. Running to escape death once again paled into insignificance compared to what she currently felt. It wasn't fear for her life, but for that of her child and just what effect they were having on the timeline by simply breathing, let alone creating a life that should have existed only in the future, if ever.

If ever indeed.

Sam couldn't deny that she loved him and knew without question that he was in love with her. But she had not expected children or a relationship. If that was what they had. She wouldn't have called them a couple by any standard. By Egyptian standards, she had learned, they were undeniably husband and wife, living in the same house, now about to be parents. There was no formal contract of marriage, no ceremony, no declaration, so it had been assumed of them from the start. She wondered if it would have been easier to play along, not let questions and rules of a time they had left behind dictate their actions still. She could say there were no more than friends, the best of friends through necessity, but she couldn't call them a couple. No matter how much she might like to.

She was right in what she had stated. It had only been the once. They didn't share a bed, didn't kiss in the shadows when they thought nobody was looking. Sam wasn't even certain what exactly was holding them back. If they could ever get the time ship to function properly again, she supposed they would return to their own time, straight back to 'yes, sir', 'no, sir' and so wanted to spare them both the pain. That one time they hadn't spoken of. It hadn't been about love, of that they were sure. Only now they knew the painful difference between attraction and need and whatever love they felt for each other. Maybe they were hiding, not daring to think of love, but the conversation would never happen, so they were no closer to the truth. Even if she knew of a way certain to terminate her unexpected pregnancy, she couldn't, and wouldn't, have gone through with it. She could love him openly enough to know she would have wanted no other father for her child.

She had initially insisted that they keep quiet and not do anything to stand out amongst their Egyptian neighbours. For a moment she had even considered suicide so as not to affect the timeline further. At least if they were dead they could do no more damage. So much for keeping quiet. Not only did they look nothing like the Egyptians, they didn't speak the language and could perform none of the daily tasks the villagers did simply to survive. They needed help every step of the way.

"Sam, I need you to push…" Eleni informed her, bring her abruptly back to reality.

Sam stubbornly shook her head, "I can't!"

Jack brushed strands of sweat curled blonde hair from her forehead, "Sam…"

"The future we know may not even exist now! What happens when we're gone? Leave our child alone in a world they don't-" she arched back in agony, "belong to!"

"You want to stay pregnant for the rest of your life?"

"No!"

"Then do as Eleni says!"

Jack refused to grimace as she practically cut off all circulation in his hand, gripping it to ensure he was in as much pain as possible. He'd seen her in some states and she'd never reacted so badly to intense pain. He supposed it was the combination with the fear they both felt, wondering, with little to no medical treatment that actually worked, whether their baby would even survive its first year. Let alone her mind racing ahead and insisting they were destroying the future with every step they took. The whole situation rather confused him. If they had destroyed the future, wouldn't they have been prevented from skipping time in the first place and so not have affected the future anyway?

That damned ship. How was he to know that by thinking of time and years gone by that he would activate the time component of the design? Ridiculous. Where you supposed to fly with a completely focused and blank mind? The Ancients must have been a boring race.

Sam let out a prolonged cry, gasping for air, breaking into a smile of relief as an angry wail joined her own shouts of protest, "Is it okay…?" she questioned, desperate to catch a glimpse of her child.

Eleni smiled, "You have a son."

Jack met her fearful gaze, "You did good, Sam…" he said quietly, smiling all the while, "He's beautiful…" he kissed her forehead, surprised when she rested a hand on the back of his neck and kissed him properly.

"…We have a son…"


	3. Fear Fought

**Notes:** Sorry, I would've updated this sooner, but exam stress took over. One more to go! Just a warning that this fic will be jumping time periods of varying length, backwards and forwards, without warning. Thanks for reviewing. Warning for one use of severe language.

* * *

Sam lay with one arm around her two month old son, eyes half open, still terrified to let him out of her sight. Her eyes rested on the sleeping form of Jack O'Neill, lying across the small room from her, breathing slow and steady in the rhythm of sleep. She knew if anything dared to threaten her or their son, he would be awake in an instant, but still, after over two years of having to live in ancient Egypt, she felt uncomfortable. She supposed it was nothing out of the ordinary; who wouldn't feel misplaced in a time that wasn't their own? It was driving her mad. No technology to play with, no experiments to try, just…nothing. Just…living. She knew if anything happened to their son, she could do little to help. Magical medicine wouldn't help him, no matter how much the villagers might believe in it. She wasn't about to go pray to some deity she knew only as a Goa'uld. They had made some advances in fixing the time ship, thanks to Eleni, but she wasn't going to risk saying she was finished, demand that they try jumping forward in time. The baby stirred in his sleep and she smiled, wondering why both the men in her life were asleep, yet she was still awake fretting over everything. Worrying over nothing, maybe. Jack had been more than overprotective of her since he had found out she was pregnant, and even that information had had to be forced out of her.

* * *

_She sat staring at a section of pottery, trying once again to decipher the language written upon it. Sam glared up at Jack, who sat down opposite her, "Its not even Hieroglyphs!" she exclaimed, for what felt like the hundredth time._

_Jack shook his head, "I'm no help here, Carter, remember, I do the random Ancient and Latin, not Egyptian."  
_

_"I don't do either," she muttered. The heiratic script stared back at her, mocking her, "Maybe its not even worth it. I don't see anyone writing. I had to grab this off the floor outside the main temple."_

"_Can you speak any of it yet?" he questioned._

"_No," she snapped, running a hand through her longer hair. _

"_Easy, Carter…" he said softly._

"_This is so frustrating," she whispered, slouching and all at once appearing to collapse in on herself, "I thought…I thought I was smart…"_

"_You're the smartest person I know."_

"_Out of everyone here?"_

"_Out of everyone ever."_

_Sam smiled slightly, eyes closed. She opened one eye as she felt his hand cover hers across the sorry excuse for a form of table and turned her hand over so they touched, palm to palm, "…I'm sorry."_

"_For what?" Jack frowned._

"_For not getting us out of here already."_

"_Hey, I got us stuck here. I'm the reason we're mock praying to some snake-heads and drinking more beer than anyone has the right to in the history of…anything!" he half smiled._

_She smiled wearily back, yawning, "At least you know how to make it the right way now…"_

"_What, you didn't like the first batch that sent us off our freakin' heads? Just be thankful that after that I couldn't remember how I made it…!"_

_Sam laughed under her breath and slowly stood up, annoyed as her body betrayed her, world spinning around her for a brief moment until she managed to steady herself. He was by her side in an instant, and, though she was thankful for the support at that moment, she quickly shrugged him away, worried he would notice the changes in her at such close proximity. She'd been managing to keep a subtle distance between them, been thankful he hadn't noticed she'd been wearing baggier clothes to hide the fact that, seeing as she had lost so much weight, however far along in her suspected pregnancy she was, it still showed._

"…_Sam, I'm not stupid…" he said softly._

"_What?" she glanced innocently back over her shoulder._

"_Its been, what, four months now? You try to hide the fact you're throwing up, you get dizzy, you're tired half the time, no matter how long you sleep…"_

"_I'm fine," she insisted, taking a few steps away._

"_No, you're not," Jack reached out to her, touching her arm, "You're pregnant."_

"_I'm not," she answered, adamant, "I just haven't been feeling so great recently."_

"_For four months? Why're you wearing different clothes all of a sudden?" he pressed._

_She mentally swore, "Its hotter outside."_

"_Why can't you keep any food down?"_

"_The heat."_

_Jack shook his head and moved away from her, "For cryin' out loud, Sam, you're pregnant. You know it, I know it, so why can't you just admit it?"_

"_Because I'm scared!" she yelled, whirling round to face him, "Because I'm absolutely fucking terrified and I have no idea what I'm doing!"_

_

* * *

_

At least she had been honest then. Living in a constant state of panic was taking its toll on her. The only other person she trusted with her child aside from herself and Jack was Eleni…and even that was at a push. Perhaps it was because she knew that the Ancient woman could defend her son with more than just her body and a weapon. If need be, she knew Eleni would throw some Ancient 'magic' in the path to protect him. She was the only one they could truly talk to. Sam sighed and shut her eyes, briefly wondering whether her son would grow up speaking English or Ancient Egyptian. If she could just fix the ship… It had been the ship that had first drawn Eleni to them anyway. That, and being obviously foreigners. The Ancient had followed them to the crash site one day and de-cloaked the ship herself. The fact that she hadn't flown off with it already showed enough proof of her good faith.

* * *

"_So we're supposed to trust you?" Jack demanded, tensed, waiting for the foreign woman before him to pull some sort of stunt and leave them stranded forever._

_Eleni folded her arms and regarded him with a slight smirk, "You don't speak their language, you have a ship of my own people hidden here, you don't wear their clothes and you ultimately have no idea what you're doing. You want to get out of here? Then let me fix Janus' ship. I should've known he'd continue anyway…"_

"_Janus?" Sam frowned._

"_The designer of the time component of this ship. Which leads me to presume you aren't simply foreigners, as I am. Displaced in time, am I right?"_

_Jack growled, frustrated._

"_I shan't ask questions. I have only one request. Once we have completed fixing this, you allow me to return to Italy."_

"_Italy?" she tilted her head, "What's in Italy?"  
_

_"Half of my people. Descendants of, at least. There are others in Greece, but I must report back to those in Italy," the Ancient explained._

"_Wait, wait, wait," Jack waved his arms, "Let me get this straight. We sent a team to reactivate your lost city. Atlantis. So you guys must be descended from the guys who abandoned it, right?"_

"_Correct," Eleni smiled, "Our descendants have reclaimed the city? Then you are of the future…"_

"_Yes," Sam answered, "They have…" she hesitated, "…and yes…we are…"_

"_That is good news," she stepped inside the ship, "I will help you repair this. My people must know of the future."_

_Jack shook his head and followed her inside, "…Like we have a choice…"_

_

* * *

_

"…Sam?"

She opened her eyes to see Jack sitting on the edge of what was serving as a mattress, "Hmmm?" she answered sleepily.

"I'll watch him," he whispered, "Get some sleep."

Sam somewhat reluctantly relinquished the baby into his father's arms, watching every step back across the room.

Jack gazed back at her, briefly, "…You have to name him, you know."

She turned on her side, facing the wall, "…Not until I know he's going to live…" she whispered, exhaling as she fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

**AN:** The fact that Sam's drinking beer whilst pregnant would be the same situation for all Egyptian women of the time. Its not technically proper 'beer'. Might seem a little random and out of place, but half my degree is in Egyptology, so hopefully I know what I'm talking about… 


	4. Eventual Escape

"Ryan!"

The fourteenth month old boy halted, startled by the sudden exclamation from his mother, and toppled backward, sitting down before he looked back at her, confused. He'd initially only meant to stray a few paces, but then discovering what was round the other side of the house looked far more interesting, even if he did have to make his way there gradually.

Gradually for him, all too fast for his mother. One minute they were sitting outside in the shade together whilst she tried to stitch segments of clothing back together, the next he'd toddled off somewhere; a few seconds more and he would have been out of sight, if he was indeed headed for round the corner of the house. Sam stood up and walked over to her son, standing over him for a moment, wondering whether to show disapproval that he had walked off. She thought she'd only confuse him, having shown such delight at his progress with walking.

"Up?" Ryan stretched his arms out toward her, unconcerned, all thoughts of escape temporarily forgotten.

She smiled and bent down to retrieve him from the floor, "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you secretly have philosophical conversations with your father when I'm not looking. You're both plotting to fool me into thinking this 'one word at a time' business is for real…" she hugged him close and returned to where she had been sitting. Sam looked up, keeping in him her lap. She hoped none of the other women around had heard her calling out his name. Eleni had helped them find a suitable Egyptian name for him that they always used in public, if they ever had to, knowing that if they were to spend a great deal more time in Ancient Egypt, he would integrate better with children his age if he was named as one of them. That, and they didn't want anyone asking any more questions about 'the foreigners'.

It had been a difficult year. More than difficult. Sam had more often found herself wanting to pack everything in and go scream at someone than carry on. It didn't help that she still hadn't been accepted by the women of the community. She remembered Daniel telling her once that the Egyptians had a very strong concept and differentiation between themselves and 'others', but even so, over three years and still alienated? Ridiculous. She had nobody to talk to, aside from Jack and Eleni, and what she really wanted was some female company, someone who had had children, somebody who understood what she was going through and could help her. It wasn't as if she could pick up a book and look up various topics to convince herself Ryan was doing okay. Sam had been rather concerned when she'd heard an Egyptian word from him, when he spent so little time in the company of the Egyptian people. She wasn't sure whether to tell herself that he could grow up bilingual and have a better future than his parents, or remind herself that they weren't going to spend enough time in Ancient Egypt for him to learn the language. If they had fixed the ship correctly, that was.

She had named her son when he three months old and had finally been convinced she wasn't going to lose him. Sam had seen enough lamentation and despair from women who had lot their children to last her a life time. She knew that not naming certainly hadn't stopped her from bonding with him, wouldn't have lessened the pain if she had lost him, the idea seemed ludicrous to her now, but she hadn't exactly been thinking straight during those early months. Sam laughed softly as Ryan reached to pull at her now quite long blonde hair, bleached almost white by the sun. She couldn't see herself in him. She saw only Jack in his appearance, dark hair and eyes, even his behaviour, though it was a little early to tell just how his personality would fully develop.

And whilst she was thinking of Jack…

Whereas she had once thought that Ryan would bring them closer together, they had only grown apart. Not fallen apart completely, were still more than good friends, but… something was off about their entire relationship. They only really touched when holding Ryan, helping him walk, setting him down in the other's arms. She wondered if he was actually afraid to touch her; her behaviour had been far from rational in Ryan's early months. Jack was a devoted father and, though she wasn't even sure she wanted a proper relationship from him, she sometimes wished he would show the same love and adoration to her. If they were in their own time, Sam thought they would have just been considered friends who had a son. She couldn't deny there was love between them, but it was a distant and certainly not demonstrative love that kept them together.

"Hey kids," it was Jack's voice that brought her back to reality, "Miss me?"

Ryan giggled and reached out his hands toward his father, "Dada!"

"Obviously," Sam smiled and stood up, swapping their son for the battered tool kit he held.

"We believe the repairs are complete," Eleni appeared from round the side of the house. She frowned, "I tied the donkey up outside, I hope that's alright."

"…Donkey?"

"Donkey," Jack repeated.

"…Since when do we have a donkey?" she asked, confused.

"Since…now."

"Why?"

"Some guy wanted a tunic. Apparently had to be mine. Hence, we got a donkey. He may think he's getting more linen, but he was rather insistent and wanted to get rid of the donkey and I figure we'll be gone and he can just raid our house if he wants," Jack shrugged. He grinned, "And if not, Ryan can terrorise said donkey."

"I thought all kids should have dogs…" she smiled.

"…We don't have a dog. We have a donkey," he nodded.

"Is there anything you must retrieve from your home?" Eleni asked, "It would be best to leave sooner rather than later."

Sam nodded, "We should take our BDU's and weapons with us."

"Let's go pack before that guy discovers you never learnt to weave…" Jack commented, shifting Ryan in his arms as they entered the house.

* * *

Three years. The longest repair job in history, or felt like it. It wasn't as if they could request more supplies or turn sand into advanced technology. Eleni had done her best with what she knew and they had all had to make do with what was already in the ship. They'd cut corners and managed to perform a very basic system restoration, the time component of the ship forever setting them back weeks when it refused to function. But they also had to live, and Sam and Jack had to raise a child, meaning sometimes work on the ship had been abandoned altogether. 

"…Well…?" Sam questioned, pacing behind the two front seats, Ryan in her arms, "…We can go?" she'd run her own checks on the work done that day and so far trusted everything was in place.

"You remember your promise?" Eleni asked of them both.

"Italy, got it, go for it," Jack answered, "Anything, so long as we get out of here."

Sam nodded and sat down, trying to convince her son that her sleeve wasn't a chew toy.

It was Eleni who first powered up the ship and took the helm, indeed managed to get herself back to Italy. She told them it would be best that they not meet her people, for fear of what it would do to the timeline, or fear of what the Ancients would try to do to those displaced in time. When Sam once again questioned her about their impact on the timeline, she had no answers for her. She didn't know any more than they did. Eleni suggested smaller jumps forward in time so as not to strain the ship, declaring future cultures would be more accommodating to foreigners. They had not been the words they wanted to hear. She bade them farewell and declared she would help them no more, to which Jack had a few choice remarks. Apparently the Ancients' 'no interference' policy had started even before their ascension. Just when they chose to meddle, obviously.

"…Can you do this?" Sam asked, when they were finally alone.

"Well we're a bit screwed if I can't."

"Language," she whispered, glancing down at Ryan.

Jack grimaced, "Sorry," he managed to reactivate the ship and pilot it into the atmosphere, into the vacuum of space before he stopped, hesitant, "…Okay, what if I throw us further back?"

"You wont," she replied, "You wont."

"So just think of the future and hope?"

"…I guess so."

He exhaled slowly, placing his hands back on the main console, "…Okay…let's see how this works…" Jack closed his eyes and tried to think back…or forward, to the moment they had skipped back in time. He'd been thinking of her and lost years. He sighed and shook his head, trying to clear his mind as they were blinded by a white light and reappeared, in what appeared to be the same place, "…Did it work?"

"Only one way to find out," Sam breathed.

It was when they discovered no development, no 2004 awaiting them on Earth, that despair began to creep into both minds. Despair that threatened to turn to fear when the ship was no longer in Jack's control, and drawn by what appeared to be a mind of its own, toward the landmass of Greece.


	5. Secret Subjects

She wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that they had only skipped forward a few hundred years and were now in Ancient Greece, or that women there were treated with little to no respect. At least in Egypt she had been near to an equal to a man, even if she was a foreigner. The one thing she was barely thankful for was the presence of those descended from the Ancients, which at least meant that they could get the ship repaired properly. Unfortunately, it didn't mean these Ancients had to like them, or help them. Sam found herself wondering why they were ever considered benevolent beings; what she had seen of their behaviour didn't impress her in the slightest. Those who spoke to them clearly looked down on them, even though they were pre-ascension. That she didn't mind so much, but it was the way they looked at Ryan that disturbed her. Having already lectured them on the damage they could have done to the future in their oh-so-superior manner, they had stopped just short of stating that Ryan was a mistake and so should have been dealt with as such. The child belonged in no specific time, born of beings from 2004 and created in little more than pre-history, dragged into the future. What did they expect them to do, leave him behind? So he was a child of time, he had no home, but where they were was his home, and damn anyone who said anything otherwise. Sam knew it had taken every bit of self control Jack possessed for him not to wipe the floor with the last Ancient who had told him exactly what he thought of his son. One had even gone as far as requesting custody of the boy to run a series of tests to see how time travel had affected him. No way. No way in hell.

At least they could now understand what those around them were saying. Having given in to the idea that they might be spending a lot more time in the past then they anticipated, both adults had agreed to let the Ancients inject them with nanites that were supposed to re-wire the correct centres of the brain to allow them to understand any spoken language, though it would take longer to learn to reply in kind. Neither had agreed to Ryan being put through the procedure, stating that he was too young, and was at the age where he was learning more words a day than he ever would again, and so should learn in the traditional way. Even if his speech was sometimes a mix of Egyptian, Greek and English. Sam found herself glad that most of the words were English, and that the others he produced seemed to just be imitations of words he'd heard others speaking, not truly understanding the meaning behind them.

They'd spent six months in Ancient Greece so far. In some ways, she found it easier to cope with than Ancient Egypt, but constantly frustrated at the way she was expecting to behave, and the fact that she couldn't fight it for fear of being driven from the city state. Four of the six months had been spent arguing with the Ancients, demanding that they be allowed to keep the ship, even though Janus had long defied them. There were only so many different ways of saying that the whole thing was an accident and if they'd just let them go, they'd be quietly on their way. They'd even had the audacity to keep them from the ship for two months, insisting it was technically their property, and, as the guardians of the people of Earth in such early development, they would allow no further damage to be done to the past, or the future.

One thing that Sam was very thankful for was managing to find a woman she could talk to and be completely honest to, about the future or otherwise. It surprised her that it turned out to be an Athenian woman a couple of years younger than herself, one who rebelled against class inflicted rules and regulations, a woman named Amarante. They had met when one of the few Ancients who was on their side introduced her to them. Initially, they had both thought she was an Ancient, more stunned to find she was human, and a little confused that her partner, Nikomedes, spent more time with her than his own people. But Amarante had secrets of her own, secrets she trusted her new friends to keep, whilst Nikomedes put several plans into action, the Ancients too busy with their plans for trial ascension to truly notice much else.

It was one afternoon when she and Amarante awaited the return of Jack and Nikomedes that Sam realised her friend was as trapped between worlds as she was.

"…They're going to leave, aren't they? And he'll have to leave with them," Amarante stared at the floor, strands of her dark hair covering her eyes, hiding her expression.

Sam looked up, "…I don't think he'd leave you like that…" she could think of no other response, and so glanced back down at Ryan, playing at her feet with some carefully sanded down wooden blocks, making some sort of elaborate tower.

"You don't think," she echoed, "…They spend too long thinking. Always thinking. Always toying with us because they're superior, because they think they're right. We're just children to them. Children to be taught lessons. When it comes down to it, he'll have to leave. When they try their wonderful trick. He couldn't stay. He'd have to leave. It wouldn't be right for him to stay behind…"

"What if he stayed for you?" her companion replied, tilting her head, curious.

She smiled faintly, "He shouldn't stay for me. I am in disgrace enough. I have made him scorned amongst his people and he has made me a disgrace to my society. We do too much damage together. …I'm not worth it."

"That's not what he thinks," Sam insisted, "Trust me."

"What do you mean?"

"You can see it in his eyes. He adores you."

Amarante smiled, "You say this of Nik, when I can see the same in Jack's eyes whenever you are together."

She shook her head, "Don't be silly."

"Its true," getting no further answer from Sam, she sighed, "You have a most confusing relationship. You have a son and yet you say you aren't together. You behave as a couple does and still you say you don't love each other. Is yours a marriage of convenience?"

"Its not a marriage," Sam mumbled. She reached down to stop Ryan putting one of the smaller blocks into his mouth, "…And I never said we didn't love each other."

"Didn't love each other or do not love each other?" Amarante shot back.

She was silent again and distracted herself by pulling her son onto her lap, wrapping her arms around him.

"You behave as if this subject is forbidden."

Sam sighed, "Our relationship was forbidden."

"So is the love between Nik and myself. More rules are self imposed than can be broken," she stood up from her chair and walked across the room to sit beside her friend, "…It hurts. And you will regret things. But you will regret more if you remain as you are," she said softly. Amarante looked across at Ryan, smiling at him as she took him from his mother's arms, "And do you not wish Ryan to have a true family?"

"We are a family. He's…he's too young, he can't tell the difference. He wouldn't know if Jack and I were madly in love or not."

"You love Jack. Do not deny it," a shadow passed across the Athenian's features, "…I will lose Nik in a matter of weeks, if not sooner. Jack will remain by your side, but you will lose him if you don't allow him to love you. And love him in return," she glanced across at Sam, "Do not be stupid. Don't let him go unless there is nothing you can do to keep him."

"'Mara, play, now," Ryan clapped his hands together, before he pointed at the blocks and looked beseechingly at Amarante.

She let him down onto the floor, standing up and settling herself on the ground beside him, "Until your father returns."

"I thought they'd be back by now…" Sam thought aloud.

"Nik's people are still trying to duplicate the time component of the ship you arrived in. If what he tells me is true. But they will be with the gods soon, so I am uncertain as to why they want what is within the ship…" Amarante shrugged, "Let us hope they are being as diplomatic as they state you were yesterday with the negotiations as to when they will let you leave…"

"Jack? Diplomatic? Whatever gods exist around here help us all…"

* * *

_**Notes:** Amarante and Nikomedes are characters from my Atlantis fic 'Shackled', which explains their 'different' behaviour if you read it, especially Amarante's. In the story line, they are past incarnations of Elizabeth Weir and John Sheppard._


	6. Greater Gains

The light streaming into the room woke Sam from what had been a fitful sleep. She had spent most of the night awake, wondering whether Jack was feigning sleep or was actually lucky enough to have slept the whole night through. They shared a bed. Anything else would have just provoked more questions. They were in enough trouble as it was in the city of Athens, having to report to a sponsor Nikomedes had managed to convince to vouch for them on their arrival in the city. The all too many political aspects of society had had Jack stating on many occasions that Daniel must've enjoyed reading incredibly boring books on the time period. Then again, Daniel loved books. He had a good mind to correct him on a few details he'd heard the younger man mumbling occasionally. The great glory of Athenian democracy? Just more excuses to exile and punish people, keep their fellow Athenians as slaves if they so chose. Ridiculous. Sam had spent her time playing the dutiful and demure wife in public, as much as it annoyed her, but only put on the act when necessary; if she thought she could get away with something, she tried it. Speaking out of turn a few times had briefly earned her a reputation, but she had learnt to glower at Jack and not contradict him when he sometimes had to rescue her. She sat up slightly to check that Ryan was still sleeping soundly on the other side of the room, before she lay back down, on her side, facing Jack, content to watch him.

Another month and the Ancients were as close to their ideal process of ascension as they could get. It also meant they had no choice but to relinquish the ship and reluctantly state that they could be on their way. She didn't trust them. She knew what they became when they ascended; they didn't have to let them take the ship at all. They could destroy it in a heartbeat. Which made her reluctant to have Jack try to activate it at all. Nikomedes had run a full systems check only a few days ago and had said it was fine, to the best of his knowledge. The Ancients had been deliberately slow in manufacturing the proper parts to fix the ship, and even slower making full repairs. Then again, they could always claim that they were slumming it on Earth and couldn't just pull a new ship out of a hat. Let alone one with the time component. Sam would have perhaps been more willing to take the risk, were it not for Ryan. She and Jack could make their own choice, he couldn't. Sometimes she thought leaving him to grow up in Ancient Greece would be safer. But then, one person could change the course of history and her scientific mind started going through all the paradoxes that even she couldn't find a final, absolute answer to. She couldn't leave him. But they couldn't stay. So it wasn't as if she had a choice. A few more months of pretending to be a perfect wife would drive her mad. Sam had heard of Amarante's plan to get passage to Italy once Nikomedes was gone. She couldn't quite agree with her friend's plan to technically sell herself to enable her to learn more than any other Athenian woman could, but part of her agreed that it was better than being banished to a sewing room.

"Can't sleep?" Jack mumbled.

It was so out of the blue that she twitched, "Now you ask?" she answered, wearily.

"Well I do a better sleeping impression."

"You mean you've been awake all this time?"

He turned on his side to face her, "You're thinking about that damned Ancient ship, aren't you?"

Sam sighed, "What if its rigged? What if you try to jump it and it explodes? They told us exactly what they think of us; we're contaminating the timeline. They would have wiped Ryan from existence if they could."

"What choice do we have, Sam? You want to spend the rest of your life here?"

"No, I-"

"'Cause I'd do it, you know. If you didn't want to do this. To keep you and Ryan safe," he said softly.

She was rather taken aback, "…You would?"

"Yeah."

"…But you hate it here as much as I do."

"Yep."

"Then-"

"Because, Sam, just because. If you don't want to do this, then we won't. Ancient Greece until we die and we'll make do," Jack said.

She smiled sadly, "…You know we have to go. Things could be disastrous either way, for Ryan at least," she paused, "…You do want to try this, right?"

"As long as you do," he replied.

Sam nodded, "We've been in worse situations. Its worth the risk if we can get home."

"Worse situations that didn't involve our nearly two year old son."

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling, "Every single option, there are risks. There's no easy way out of this. I thought about leaving him here, so at least he'd grow up. But then, he might not, and… I'd rather we made a mistake together than know we had the chance and didn't take it."

"That's what's been worrying you all night?" Jack questioned.

"…Everything's worrying…"

He shifted closer to her, "We could be home tomorrow morning."

"Optimist."

"One of us has to be."

Sam closed her eyes and refused to let herself smile with relief when he put his arms around her and hugged her tightly to him, possessively. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and sighed softly.

"Sleep, Sam. One of us has to be intelligent this afternoon and it sure isn't gonna be me," he whispered, relaxing his grip on her.

She remained curled beside him, one arm across his chest, "Yes, Sir…"

Jack frowned, "I thought we dealt with _that_ a few hundred years ago," he chided.

She laughed sleepily, mocking herself as she did so, "…Sorry."

"Are you?"

"Not really…"

* * *

"You distrust them as much as I do, don't you?" Amarante questioned, later that morning. She sat on the floor in the back of the ship, keeping watch on Ryan, whilst Sam sat a few feet away, surrounded by wires, a tangle in her hands, trying to make sure all the connections were correct. 

"I know what they're going to be," Sam muttered, unimpressed. She wished she could have fixed the ship properly herself, that they had just given her the materials and told her to get on with it. So what if it had taken months? But no.

"Then this process gives them the power to do more than meddle with just my people?"

"Gives them the power to meddle with anyone they choose. I just hope other sects of the Ancients had more sense than these. If they're the descendants of Atlantis, as they claim."

"If Nik goes with them he will become one of these beings…" the Athenian said softly, sadly.

"Some of them are benevolent…" Sam replied. She grimaced and looked back at the wires, "…Just…not a lot of them."

Ryan clambered over her legs and wandered through to the cockpit of the ship. He laughed and turned back to look at his mother, "New," he paused, trying to remember the right sequence for his words, "…Not…like home."

Sam shot a half grin at Amarante, "And when he says things like that, I never know which home he means!"

"Wherever he remembers being with you," Amarante answered, smiling.

She looked back at her son, "No, Ryan, not like home. There'll be a new home soon."

"New?" he repeated. Ryan frowned, turning away, and stepped closer to the main console, reaching up to touch it, barely able to place his hands on the panel, even on tiptoes.

"Ryan, no," Amarante began.

"Ryan, stop-" Sam said, at the same instant. She jumped to her feet, abandoning the tangle of wires, as the console lit up and the lights within the ship brightened. She swept him up into her arms, holding him tightly, glaring down at the console.

"Bright," Ryan clapped his hands and smiled, pleased with himself.

His mother was less enthusiastic, "No," she looked down at him, "No, you don't touch. I told you not to touch. So did Mara. That was a bad thing, Ryan, you're not to do it again. Do not touch."

Amarante stood up, walking to stand beside her, "…He can activate this ship? I thought only Nik and Jack could," she frowned, "How can Ryan activate this when you cannot?"

Sam sighed, "He must've got the gene from Jack. Only people from where we from who have the gene that matches one identical to Nik's people can use their technology."

"…So…by your time, even then their blood runs through your veins?"

"Much watered down, but yes."

"…But they have exiled those they found associating with my people. They don't allow them to acknowledge the children they have with our women. Children that can do amazing things," Amarante seemed confused, "Many of their people have ties with my own. Men and women, children, grandchildren…"

"Maybe its just as well they don't acknowledge them. They'd do more damage to more lives," Sam checked Ryan's hands, studying him, making sure nothing had happened to him, "You really are your father's son, you know that?" she told him.

"So Jack…is descended from Nik's people?" her companion asked.

"We don't know. I really don't know…seeing all this history first hand has just made this more confusing…"

"Hey kids, what's happenin'? Jack's voice echoed around the ship. He halted, "…Who's been playing around? Did they decide to give you a hand?"

"They wouldn't help any further," Nikomedes reminded him, "I think they're in denial that one of own 'betrayed' us with this time component."

"Ryan touched the console, he activated it," Sam explained.

"Just as well you didn't let them run their tests on him," Nik exhaled.

"How can you get away with behaving like you do? Surely they know you don't share their beliefs."

"They need me. I'm walking a fine line; I can only get away with so much. As you know, they don't know about Mara," he shook his head, "Though I thought Serenity had caught us the other day."

"Serenity?" Amarante questioned.

"You'd hate her."

Jack strode across the room and took Ryan from Sam's arms, "Now, either you were being a scientific genius like your mother, or you were just playing around, like me," he said, holding him at arms length for a moment, "What's it gonna be?" he swept him into the air and back into his arms.

"Mama said no," Ryan replied, a little confused.

"I'll take that to be the genius answer!"

"Did all the checks turn out right?" Nik asked Sam.

She shrugged, "From what I can tell, its all okay. But I still don't know a lot about this technology. I don't think there's anything rigged to explode, which is what I was initially looking for."

"At least they didn't sink that low. I'll run another full systems scan, I'm not taking chances," Nik ran a hand through his dark hair and shook his head, exasperated with his own people's games.

"Thanks."

"Maybe we can get back by this evening then. Be nice to give Daniel and Teal'c a shock. Let alone the General," Jack quipped, grinning.

Sam's expression darkened, glancing momentarily at Ryan, "…I'd have thought the General would be the last person you'd want to see."

"He can court martial my ass out of there for all I care, I'd rather have our son."

She smiled, despite her efforts not to, "Say _that_ when the door hits your ass on the way out," she teased.

"Maybe I will."

"You will be missed," Amarante tried a smile, seeing herself very much alone in a few day's time.

All five were silent for several moments, each lost in their own thoughts about the not so distant future. Nik reached out and hugged Amarante close to him, whilst Sam smiled at Ryan, trying to reassure him, Jack wondering just how fake her smile was. He sighed and touched her shoulder, kissing her forehead and brushing her hastily plaited hair from her face. She rested her head on his shoulder as Ryan snuggled closer to his parents.

"…Let's hope we're gone long enough to miss and be missed…"


	7. Enough Evasion

Corsets. Bane of the whole damned Earth. Just why did she need to look thinner than she already was? At least she'd learnt just how tight to tie the thing now; once before Jack had found her collapsed in their bedroom, having fainted after spending all day with it tied too tight. It was times like that that had made her reconsider; maybe America in the Victorian era might have been more appealing. But not as safe as Britain, they had reasoned, and so had decided to head for the UK instead. Ryan certainly seemed happier there than he had in Egypt or Greece, perhaps because he got to eat more appealing food, or play with properly manufactured toys.

They had only just managed to avoid the workhouse. Hiding the ship had been hell, but starting again with nothing was worse. Determined not to end up slumming it, as she knew so many people were forced to, Sam had initially pretended she was a trained servant and worked for whoever could pay her. The fact that she couldn't cook and honestly had no idea what she was doing caught her out pretty swiftly, the only thing having kept her going in the eyes of her employers being that she was one of the few who took orders and didn't question them in the slightest. Still, she was caught out and that was that, she was lucky not to be branded a liar about London.

They knew they'd never manage to get enough money to live 'comfortably', as the middle and upper classes did, the main issue being who was to take care of Ryan. They agreed that they weren't going to risk letting somebody else take care of him, for fear of altering the timeline further, or what he would say about what he'd seen in his life. At two and half years old, he was swiftly learning to put more complex sentences together, and more than happy to demonstrate. Overly so. As it was, they lived in a small complex in an area comprised of three rooms, all they could afford, and stretching finances enough to live there. It wasn't at all grand, rather dark and gloomy, but they thought they would only be there for a matter of months, not years, and so made do.

"Too tight!" Sam choked out, dragging a breath of air into her lungs as Jack laced the back of her corset up.

"Sorry!" he quickly ripped all the lacing he'd done so far out, meaning he had to start again, but preferred that to seeing her collapse again.

Ryan sat on his parents' bed, and laughed when Sam sighed in relief, amused, having been worried that something irreversible had happened to his mother, "Mama okay now?"

"Just be thankful you don't have to wear one, my boy," she smiled, one hand on her diaphragm, forcing herself to breathe.

"You okay? You're okay, right?" Jack took her shoulders and span her round, looking her up and down.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," she assured him, "Quick, tie it up, I've got to go before they decide to dock my pay."

He span her back round and started lacing the corset up again, "Could claim discrimination or something."

"Yeah, women with no vote and being second class citizens…somehow, I don't think so. At least they're letting me work there. And with science."

"Just don't outsmart anybody. Or teach them how to build nuclear bombs or anything."

She smiled, "I'll leave that to Ryan," she stepped away as he tied the end knot, "Thanks," she grabbed the top layer of her dress off the bed, quickly buttoning it over the corset and underskirt, "Never, ever, again, when we get out of here. I may never wear a dress again. Ever," she grabbed her bag from the bed and kissed the top of Ryan's head, "See you later."

"Bye, Mama," he nodded solemnly.

"Remember, nuclear bombs; no!" Jack called her after, as she rushed from the room.

"Got it!" Sam called back, "Back soon!" the door slammed behind her.

Jack looked back at Ryan, "Bet you didn't see me being a house-husband, huh?" he picked him up, grinning, "Let's see what havoc we can wreck whilst your Mom's gone…"

* * *

He was glad Sam had a lot more freedom in this era than in any of the others they had lived in. Of course, to women of the day, they had very little freedom, but it was a little that Sam revelled in. She was happier than he'd seen her in a good few months. She was a wonderful mother, he thought, always had time for Ryan, always a smile and a hug, always time to play, even if it meant she went without. Jack had been very concerned about her behaviour during his early months, how possessive she was of him, never letting him out of her sight. He wondered if she had been more terrified of losing him or of being a mother. Sometimes he had thought that the thought of them being a family frightened her more, had given her the space, and had got so used to giving her the space to breathe, only words between them had become the only automatic response. He knew he was as in love with her now as he always had been, but somehow that love and the love for her as the mother of his child were completely different. 

What got to him most of all was how they behaved around each other. They hadn't set out to play a married couple, but somehow it was what they were left with, even when the doors closed and they could let the mask drop. Beyond friends and not quite lovers. Almost too comfortable which each other. He wasn't sure if it was for Ryan's sake or because they were too busy avoiding everything else to notice.

"Think we'll get around to saying anything before you've got kids of your own?" Jack asked of Ryan, watching his son follow him into the room and clamber into one of the wooden chairs by the table.

The boy was silent, head tilted in inquiry.

"I'll take that as a no…" he sighed.

They were more or less ready to try skipping forward in time again. They'd established that, when the ship had been fixed properly, the interface had been restored almost fully, more sensitive to whoever was controlling it. Victorian Britain had been close, but, as they say, no cigar. The ship was hidden in an abandoned junkyard, invisible, beneath a pile of spare parts and rusting metal. When they had the time, Sam had been working on making the interface even more sensitive, so that hopefully their next jump would be their last. Just to think of 2004 and hope. She had briefly wondered if they might accidentally jump to the future, but didn't voice the idea and pushed it to the back of her mind. The main reason they had decided to stay put for a while was Ryan. Whilst getting home quicker seemed like a better plan, giving him a proper home to live in, if only for a little while, was more appealing. At his age, he was learning and advancing more than he ever would again in his lifetime, and confusing him further wasn't something either of his parents wanted to do.

Sam had finally got a job working in a crude science lab. And she had only got that by overhearing the technicians' discussion and correcting them on several points. With what she knew, they had been willing to look past the fact that she was a woman and employ her, even if it was at a cheaper rate of pay than the men. It was a somewhat frustrating job, as she knew where mistakes were being made, couldn't correct them, and had to make mistakes of her own, hoping she wouldn't tell them something they weren't 'supposed' to know yet.

This left Jack at home with Ryan, wondering just how they were to proceed with the 'normal' life of the two year old, when everything around them was far from normal. Well, for 2004. Sometimes Jack was convinced he was more phased by events than his son. Ryan just seemed to take everything in his stride, not even bothered that he had no company his own age. His father was concerned that the whole situation might affect his social development a great deal, but it wasn't as if he had a choice. Jack took the boy out whenever he could, so they weren't left looking at the same three small rooms, and found it quite amusing that whilst he was frankly disturbed by some of the things he saw, Ryan found it all absolutely fascinating and somehow very amusing.

So, he convinced himself, Ryan was doing okay. Maybe even better than okay. And, on the outside, he and Sam were doing fine. But they weren't. He'd had enough. It was time to at least attempt conversation on the forbidden subject. At least she couldn't run very far with all those skirts.


	8. Talking Time

"You think I should go for the softly-softly approach or just go a little crazy on her?" Jack asked aloud, putting a plate with a snack on in front of Ryan.

"Crazy?" the boy echoed, not understanding, "Daddy not crazy."

"I know a lotta people who'd disagree with you, kid," he ruffled his hair and sat down on the chair next to him, "You wait 'til we get you back where you belong," he grinned, though he rather liked the idea of his son being a time traveller.

It was then that the main door was unlocked and Sam walked in, closing it behind her, reluctantly turning to face her family.

Ryan laughed, clearly delighted with his mother's state, "Mama look silly."

"What happened to you?" Jack tried to turn his grin into a frown.

"Let's just say they added a little too much of something to something else, and I couldn't exactly say 'hey, stop that' and…boom…" she rubbed her hands across her smoke blackened face.

"You okay? They okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Not going to let a little explosion stop them. Never stopped them before!" she put her battered hat down on the table, trying to remove the pins from her hastily arranged hair. Sam poured some water from the jug in the corner and tried to return her features to normal.

Ryan was still giggling as soot fell from her hair. He gasped and fell silent as she whirled round and dabbed his nose with the soot, making him almost go cross-eyed in an attempt to see what she'd done.

"See, she always has the last word," Jack smiled.

"You boys better remember that."

He nodded to himself and exchanged a glance with Ryan, "Definitely going for crazy."

* * *

"He's asleep. Finally," Sam quietly shut the door to Ryan's small room behind her. She glanced down at the book in her hands, "…Didn't ever see myself reading actual Victorian fairytales to him." 

"Bet you didn't see yourself with a son at all. At least not now," he knew was being unnecessarily harsh, determined to provoke her.

She recoiled and put the book down on the table in the main room, "…No. Perhaps I didn't," she said softly, refusing to react.

"Maybe the Ancients were right. Maybe he is a mistake," Jack stood up and wandered into the next room.

Her hands curled into fists, furious with him for daring to say such a thing, "How can you say that?" she demanded.

He looked back over his shoulder at her, "I don't know. Then again, I don't know what the hell's really going on here, so I guess anything's fair game."

"I can't believe you just said that about your own son…!"

Jack span round to face her, "_Our_ son, Sam, _ours._ Not just mine, not just yours, _ours!_"

She shook her head, so angry she was shaking, "You take what you said back. You take it back, now. Take it back or we're gone, now," she stated, voice deadly low.

"And where're you gonna go?"

"Anywhere but here. I'm not staying here with someone who thinks his son is a mistake."

"Avoiding the issue, Carter."

Sam blinked, stunned; he hadn't called her that in years.

"He's not a mistake. And if he is, then he's the best damn mistake to happen in years," he advanced toward her, "Maybe this is the mistake. You and me. Whatever's going on here."

"Well, we were hardly thinking straight at the time!" she snapped.

"And what about the years before that, huh? Going to tell me we weren't thinking straight then either?"

"I can't have been, to fall for my-" she looked away and shook her head, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't even matter anymore. Everyone we've ever met has thought we're married. It doesn't matter that we skipped everything before that and just pretend everything's fine. It doesn't matter that I loved you. This is what we're left with," she walked round him, wishing there was a door to slam between the main room and their bedroom, perversely wishing she could slam the door to Ryan's room just for the effect.

Jack sighed, exasperated, "This isn't what we're left with, Sam, we never even got started."

"And I suppose you think this is all my fault?"

"You didn't even tell me when you _suspected_ you were pregnant."

She glared back at him, "What was I supposed to do? You were my CO. We didn't even talk…after…we just carried on."

"Was your CO? What am I now then?" he demanded.

"I don't know!" she hissed, reluctant to shout, afraid to wake Ryan, "What happens when we get home? _If_ we get home. We both get a court martial and probably removed from the same unit. Just what do we do? I know I'll have to go back to snapping quick replies to orders and you'll have to follow the orders of whoever decides your fate. It wont matter that we have a son and have spent these years like this, they won't know what it was like, won't know what happened. They wont give a damn."

"Stop hiding behind the Air Force! We left that behind! That doesn't govern your behaviour and you know it!" Jack insisted.

"What if it does? What if it has to?"

"Then you're a coward," he stated, turning away.

Sam was silent, staring at the floor, "Its just so easy for you to-"

"Its not _easy_ to do anything!" he interrupted, "It might be easy for you to go around pretending we're a married couple and a happy family, but it isn't for _me_. Because I wonder just how this would have turned out if it wasn't because we had to," Jack looked back at her, "When did this all go wrong? And don't you dare bring Ryan into this, this was going on even before that night. You wanna know the truth? I'm scared to even go near you anymore, without an excuse, in case it drives you further away. We think we're beyond friends, but we're not. We're not even friends anymore. We're just acting."

"And we weren't in the future? Neither of us was playing along and getting on with things because we couldn't do anything else?"

"So its all just an act; we have a son and we've been through all this, but its just another act."

She turned away, "…And what if I said it?"

"Said what?" Jack snapped.

Her voice was quiet, "…If I said I was still in love with you…but I didn't know what to do anymore."

"…I'd say why didn't you say so sooner. Because you _know_ I love you," he shook his head in dismay.

Sam hesitated, torn, before she wandered further into their bedroom, "…I'm…just…I'm tired. I can't even remember when any of this happened and I can't get out of it… its…too comfortable…too familiar…too…old…"

"We're not old. And this certainly isn't old. Considering we never even got started."

She sat on the edge of the bed, "…Then why does it feel like we're already worn out?"

"We skipped straight to the end and didn't look back?" Jack proposed.

"I've done enough looking back to last several lifetimes."

He sat down beside her, resting his head against hers when she immediately rested her head on his shoulder, "Regrets?"

Sam stared ahead at the wall, eyes unfocused, "No," she shrugged, "…Well, maybe that wine in Greece."

"That was your own fault," he nudged her.

"Was not."

"Was too."

She raised her head to look him in the eye, "…You really think all of this is one giant mistake?"

"No," he replied, "Though I think not starting out like this was a mistake," he kissed her, gently, hesitantly, expecting her to run a mile.

Sam smiled as she pulled away, "…Definitely should have done that more often…" she uttered, quickly leaning in to kiss him again. Something she hadn't felt in years stirred within her, passion, desire, so foreign she almost didn't recognise them. Comfortable, familiar love made her feel safe. Passion made her feel alive. She forced aside the fears about their return that had increased with every jump closer they had made, reminding herself that they led a different life, and, despite what she thought, she could behave however she damn well liked.

He held her closely against him, glancing back to the front of he room, "…Times like these I wish there was a door there…"

She laughed quietly, hiding her head against his shoulder, "And just what makes you think anything's going to happen?" she taunted.

"That look in your eyes," he shot back, turning back to kiss her thoroughly.

She pulled him down onto the bed with her, "…You got me…"

"…Thought so…"


	9. Creeping Closer

Making the interface more sensitive had unfortunately made Jack more wary about controlling the ship. He still blamed himself for sending them right back to Ancient Egypt, now he wondered if he was going to throw them into the future with a single stray thought. Sam reasoned that Ryan hadn't done anything when he had touched the console, and who was to really know what was going through a toddler's mind? Still, Jack had made a further controlled jump that unfortunately had not sent them right back to 2004. Some part of Sam had been glad at the time, considering the secret she had been keeping, and hadn't been looking forward to her friend's reactions, or rather, their superiors, when they got back.

When she had started to suspect, the same feelings that had signalled Ryan's arrival plaguing her daily, she had once again kept quiet. Three months and she still hadn't said a word, but this time she was able to keep her secret a lot more easily. For a start, they weren't living in such close quarters, nor did they spend nearly every hour of every day together. But this time was different. She wasn't keeping it from him because she was too scared to even admit it to herself, she wanted to be sure. And she knew if she was right she was going to have to ask that they do something she considered was a selfish request. She would rather she returned to 2004 with a new-born baby than risk going through the stress of court martial and losing it.

The fifties were…different. That about summed it up, for both of them. The way of life was more familiar and life was generally more comfortable…and part of them wanted to say they were never going back, were just going to settle down and quietly live out their lives. But that wasn't an option. They didn't belong in the 1950's…Ryan certainly didn't…and they certainly didn't do 'quiet' lives.

Jack laughed softly in the darkness as he felt Sam shift again, dragging the cover of their bed with her, and mutter a curse.

"Quiet, you. This is all your fault."

"My fault?"

"You did this to me. Again," she turned to face him, glaring, even though he couldn't quite see the features of her face in the darkness.

"You weren't complaining. Far from it, if you'll remember," he commented.

She smiled, "Those were a crazy few weeks. You try over three years of celibacy."

"I did. You were there. And then…well, you were there some more…"

Her hand fell to her abdomen, "…You think it's a boy or a girl?" she asked, voice soft.

"…Well, maybe Ryan could do with a little sister to protect. Or a little brother to fight with," Jack grinned.

"Stereotypical view," she nudged him.

"It's the fifties, we're gonna to look back and think everything was stereotypical!"

Sam sighed, "…Do you hate staying here?"

"No. I'd rather have you and Ryan and the little one here for a while than risk anything else and being thrown into the deep end by the Air Force back home…" he answered.

"But it'll be another two months before we can head home unless we go now. …I feel okay, really, baby's fine… I understand if you want to try jumping forward again…"

"Sam, I don't want to go anywhere. I said I'd rather be here than face the hassle when we get back. And, ya know, if they really do decide to go for the dishonourable discharge then we're better off outta there. What did they expect us to do? Should be enough that we got back in the first place," he wrapped an arm around her and rested his head against hers.

"…But…its my life…its your life, we can't go back and just say that all this happened and we're going to continue living this way. I'm not letting Ryan or little one go, and I…I…can't let you go…but they're going to try and split us up. Its their duty, it's the regulations, its their lives, what they have to enforce…it wont matter that we survived against the odds," she whispered, eyes tightly closed, "They wont see a family, they'll see a CO and 2IC whose behaviour was already borderline," she opened her eyes, knowing he'd be glaring at her, "Don't look at me like that," she said softly, "You know they were watching us."

"Well they can watch me walk outta there and damn well defend your career to the last," Jack kissed her gently, "and hey, we've got friends. I don't see the General saluting as they kick us out…"

"…I guess not…"

He shifted closer to her, "They've already done those experiments on the 'Gate by now, you know…"

"I know… and its lying dormant in a box somewhere… makes me want to yell and scream and say we know what to do with it…"

"Could get us some more money if we did. Not that working on a manufacturing line isn't thrilling…" he smiled.

"Sorry…wish I could do something more productive… I never thought I'd be pining for a several storey high metal ring…" she twined her fingers with his.

"You just concentrate on the baby and do the phone answering and filing thing."

"And suppress the urge to say I've worked in the Pentagon and actually lied about being a secretary."

"That too."

Okay, so being a secretary was an incredibly frustrating and boring job to her, but it paid reasonably well and it wasn't that taxing, which she was thankful for, considering she was seven months pregnant. It also meant she could take Ryan to work with her, sitting quietly with her as long as he was occupied. He was very curious about the world around him, and all the more willing to talk now he was able to handle more complex sentence structures, and keeping him entertained was a great deal more difficult. Even though he could be a handful sometimes (and what three and a half year old wasn't?) the situation meant she could work and still spend enough time with him, whilst remaining relatively less stressed out. Her morning sickness had lasted a great deal longer with this pregnancy than with the last, and she also found herself more easily tired, so any opportunities to make things easier were to be taken. In comparison, knowing she had safely given birth in Ancient Egypt, her fears about going through labour in the fifties were nothing.

And then there was Jack. Or rather, Jack and her. She couldn't deny that she was a lot happier than she had been in the past couple of years. She loved and adored their son, but her relationship…or lack of…with his father had certainly brought her down. Knowing she was playing a major role in their lack of progress hadn't helped at all. In her mind, her CO, her friend and the father of her child had appeared as separate people…and when they blended together before her, the confusion was too much to handle. She loved them all, but in so many different ways she was afraid to demonstrate any of them to him, afraid it wouldn't be what he expected. She knew he loved her…but she still hadn't know for sure in what way. Their first night together hadn't been about love or even desire, just something to make all the fear and despair fade away for a while. She couldn't even remember who had reached for who first, just remembered that she had thought that she was finally getting what had craved all those years, no matter in what way. It had been violent and filled with anger, never spoken of again for fear of what they had awoken. But Ryan had been the result and he was beautiful. Beautiful enough so that she could look back on that night and not despair again.

Now it was different. Still playing a married couple but not behaving like a couple who'd been married for fifty years and stuck in a routine of smiles and embraces because it was 'the done thing'. Not that they'd ever really embraced beyond moments of reassurance. So perhaps really talking was still a bit of a problem, but they'd had that before and both knew sharing every word they ever thought was beyond ridiculous. In her more doubt filled moments, Sam wondered if it was just the physical love they had missed. But it was more than that… it was actually safe for her to state that she loved him, and, if she had to, could fall to pieces in his arms and not care that she was putting on such a display (and with her hormones at the moment, one minute she was crying, the next she was threatening to smack him one). Little things like kissing him goodbye and noticing that he held her whenever he thought he could, no longer afraid to touch her.

Realising she was pregnant again had been rather a shock. Yet it wasn't what his reaction would be that had worried her. She had been more worried that she might lose the baby in the early months of pregnancy. She surprised herself with how much she wanted this baby, not that Ryan wasn't enough of a joy to her. Sam hadn't really seen herself with a hoard of children, but somehow thought she wouldn't mind having more once she brought her new son or daughter into the world. She thought she might spring the idea on an unsuspecting Jack one day and have some fun watching his reaction. That was, after they got home. And after they were dragged, and managed to drag themselves, through the long haul of interviews, paperwork, and suspected court martial awaiting them in 2004.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about getting married?"

"I think…yes."

"Sweet."


	10. Heading Home

"Well…"

"Think this'll be the last jump?" Jack glanced across at Sam, reluctant to place his hands back on the main controls beyond getting the ship back into Earth's atmosphere.

"Maybe, maybe not," she replied, "We'll make do, whatever happens. Don't worry."

"…Unless this thing decides to spontaneously combust…"

"Combust?" Ryan echoed, grinning, pleased with the word.

Sam smiled back the boy, shifting the bundle in her arms closer to her, "Now look what you've done," she chided her husband.

So they were 'technically' married. If they were honest, they hadn't actually 'wanted' to get married so soon, but thought if they could wave a marriage certificate in the faces of their superiors, they were less likely to be split up. Or make them more angry, they weren't sure which. But it had been the right thing to do, they both thought, especially since they had two children. At the time, one of their witnesses hadn't seemed at all amused that they not only had a son, but were expecting another child, though she managed to contain herself until she'd signed the papers. They'd had just enough money for simple gold bands, Sam hadn't even had an engagement ring, not that she'd particularly wanted one. There was a certain satisfaction in knowing they'd return home as a family, with the documentation to prove it. Even little Emma's birth certificate, despite the fact that it, and the marriage certificate, were dated to the year of 1956.

"And you'll be teaching him to destroy things and confuse me in a few years, let me have my fun!" Jack smiled.

"Combust? What's tha' mean?" Ryan asked.

"…Loud noise, explosion. Fire, lots of light," Sam explained. She looked down at three week old Emma, "You better not be listening to this, baby," she whispered. The little girl didn't even react, fast asleep, eyes closed.

"Hey, we can play guys Vs girls hockey and have it be fair teams…"

"Because a baby of three weeks can play hockey."

"Give her a few months. She'll be good," Jack nodded, trying to provoke her. He exhaled slowly and placed his hands back on the console, "…Okay…clear mind…"

Ryan stood up from his seat and wandered to stand beside his mother.

Sam wrapped an arm around him and kissed the top of his head, murmuring for him to be quiet.

"…And…fourth time's a charm…" a white light blazed through the ship for a moment, making Ryan duck down and Sam instinctively drag him closer, closing her eyes tightly. The light faded and she looked down at both their children, checking neither had reacted in any severe fashion.

"W…What was that?" Ryan questioned, eyes wide.

"We just took a little trip," his mother replied. She looked up, "…Do you think…"

"Only one way to find-"

"_-ral O'Neill, Major Carter, respond. Do you copy?"_

They'd both dreamt of the moment they'd get back. It generally involved a lot of yelling and hugging and ecstatically announcing their return…but… silence reigned in the small compartment.

General O'Neill.

Colonel Carter.

Ryan broke the silence, "Who's that?"

"…We could just go, you know…" Jack uttered their unspoken thoughts, "…They wouldn't know…"

"I know…" Sam replied, "…But I'd know…and you'd know…that we did all this…and just left them again."

He shot her a sad half grin, "Wanna go kick some ass?"

She frowned and covered Ryan's ears, "Language!" but she was laughing at the same time, "…Let's go. Let's go home."

"_Jack, Sam? You there? Guys?"_

"Who is it?" their son repeated.

"Now _that_ sounds more like it!" Jack grinned. He reached across and pulled his son onto his lap, "That's Daniel. I'm sure you'll like him. He'll give you more books," he looked back at Sam, "Wanna do the honours?" his hand hovered above the control to open the comms.

She shook her head, "This is your show. You got us back," she smiled and shifted Emma in her arms as their daughter opened her eyes and emitted a thin wail.

Jack activated the comms, "Daniel? Danny boy! You there?"

A confused reply was promptly offered, _"Yeah, Jack…what was with the silence? We've been trying to contact you for five minutes and got no reply."_

Emma chose then to test her lungs and burst into tears, wailing as loud as she possibly could.

_"...Guys, what's that noise?"_

"My daughter," Jack answered proudly, without hesitation, grinning from ear to ear.

"_Your what?"_

"Daughter."

"Who's that?" Ryan wanted to have his say.

"_Colonel Carter, just what is going on?" _one of the military personnel present demanded.

"We've been gone a lot longer than you think," was all she could think of to reply.

"…_Just how long?"_ it was Daniel who asked the question, after several moment's silence.

"…I…er…nearly six years…"

"_What?"_

Sam held Emma closer, rocking her, ignoring the stunned exclamation from several voices.

"Long story. Permission to return to the SGC? With the ship cloaked, of course…" Jack proposed.

"_Of course," _the sergent stated, "_I suppose a 'welcome home' is in order, General, Colonel?"_

"I'd say so, Sir…"

* * *

When their friends walked into the briefing room to find it already occupied by a nervous Sam and Jack, with not only one child accompanying them, but two, nobody was sure where to begin. They'd changed. Perhaps they weren't delusional, as had been proposed, maybe it had really happened. And how else to explain the children? It was General Hammond who halted at the door to the room,presence requested and flownback to try and handle the situation, considering Jack couldn't very well demand answers of himself. 

Sam resisted the urge to jump up and hug her well missed former companions, sadly staring at the surface of the table, knowing that they hadn't 'missed' them at all. They'd been gone no longer than was expected. A few hours at the most. She distracted herself from the pain by pretending even greater interest in Emma's wellbeing, even though the young girl was asleep once again.

Jack held Ryan on his lap and stared back into the eyes of his CO, unrepentant. He'd done nothing wrong. They'd made a life for themselves. Six years. What did they expect of them? To still be calling each other 'General' and 'Colonel'? A thousand questions stared back at him from several pairs of eyes, making him feel the need to defend himself. He wasn't going to back down and say that it had all been a mistake. Events had happened beyond their control, but he wouldn't exactly call any one of them an absolute mistake. He just wanted to get home. Take their children home, his home, Sam's home, rooms he would be expecting to be piled with dust, but would be exactly as they left them that morning.

The General sat at the head of the table, Teal'c beside Jack and Daniel beside Sam.

"…Six years?" were the first words Hammond could form that made any sense in his mind.

"Six years," Jack replied.

Sam didn't offer a response, but took the opportunity to hug Daniel tightly with the arm that wasn't supporting her daughter.

"How?"

"…We don't know exactly…" now she did speak, "The time component of the Ancient ship was activated and the next thing we knew, we were in Ancient Egypt, Sir. We've been doing repairs, with help, on the ship ever since. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Its taken us four attempts at reactivating it to get back here."

"And this took you six years?" the General kept his voice quiet, hoping it didn't sound as if he was accusing them of anything.

"Years to get the ship fixed and survive wherever we wound up. It wouldn't take two jumps in a row, we tried, trust me on that, Sir," Jack answered.

Ryan was staring at the ceiling, "What is this place?"

"Ryan, now isn't the time, I promise I'll tell you later," Sam said softly.

"Why don't you introduce us?" Daniel proposed, a smile he had been hiding for several minutes emerging.

Jack was all too happy to oblige, "This is Ryan Daniel, he's three and a half, well, by how we kept count anyway…" he glanced around the table before speaking to his son, "This is Daniel, Teal'c and…" he wasn't feeling quite so brave as to refer to the General as 'George' as he would have done so if he were in a more flippant mood, "General Hammond."

"And this is Emma Eleni," she smiled, unable to help herself, and tilted her daughter in her arms, "She's three weeks old."

"And these are…your children…?" Hammond pressed.

"Carter or O'Neill?" Daniel asked.

Sam and Jack exchanged a slightly confused glance before they looked away.

"We never really decided…or thought about it…really…" he frowned.

"And yes, they're ours. Emma's birth certificate is in the ship, with our BDU's and weapons," Sam nodded, not quite wanting to spring the wedding certificate on them unless they noticed the bands on their fingers.

"What of Ryan Daniel's?" Teal'c questioned.

"Not a question I was expecting from you, T," Jack frowned.

"I believed it was the most relevant."

"Ryan…doesn't have a birth certificate. He was born in Ancient Egypt…" his mother replied, looking away and waiting for them to put his age and the years they had been gone together and start assuming they'd been together from the start, glad of the excuse.

It was at that moment that Janet walked in, offering a quick apology for her lateness. She halted, apology forgotten, and blinked several times at the sight before her, "…I think I've missed something here…"

"We're playing six year catch up," Jack grinned at her.

"Six years…?" her eyes fell on Ryan, then widened as she saw the bundle in Sam's arms. Knowing what she did, she'd one day hoped to see such a scene, but perhaps not quite so soon or so suddenly. She'd only just seen them off a few hours ago! Janet shot them both a brief, reassuring, smile before she took her seat and fell back into 'stunned' mode, "…I think you'd better start from the beginning again…"

* * *

_**AN: **Just the epilogue to go now._


	11. Epilogue

**Notes:** I was so desperate to finish this before I went away I was much with the inconsistencies in the last chapter. They're all edited and corrected though, thank you to 'SG-1 fan' for pointing it out. I've been ill all this week and not exactly with it, so I apologise for any mistakes.

* * *

**One month later**

* * *

"So what really happened all those years?"

"What do you mean?"

Janet cradled Emma in her arms, smiling down at her, besotted, "I mean…this, you, the General, Emma, Ryan," she said softly.

Sam tilted her head, a smile spreading across her face, "Does this mean she's going to have you _and_ me _and_ Jack wrapped round her little finger? Ryan's already a charmer, I'm going to have my work cut out…" she paused for a moment, "…Honestly? I don't know," she laughed quietly, "I still don't know. It just feels like its always been this way…" she slouched against the back of the sofa, "I keep expecting things to have changed with all of you…and you're all just the same…"

"I'm still playing the 'my best friend has come home married to our CO and with two children' card," Janet grinned.

"You would!"

"I still can't believe all this happened to you. But all the medical results say you're older, you've given birth to children…and I doubt you decided to play fifties dress-up for fun when we first saw you."

"I'd never been happier to see fatigues!" Sam sighed, "Sometimes I think I'm going to wake up and find myself back in Egypt or Greece…anywhere but here. Its like everything's new again, just watching TV, opening the fridge, even just having a fridge! Having a proper house and not having to pretend I'm someone else…" she glanced back at her friend, "And not have to worry about being dragged through court anymore…"

"Well, what else could they do? They couldn't legally take your children from you, either of you, they had no actual reason. I think getting married was a good idea. Something else they couldn't dissolve themselves unless you did so…" she grimaced, "You got off pretty lightly…considering…they could have done a lot worse…"

"Considering I'm no longer allowed to serve as a military officer in the SGC…and lost command of SG-1…"

"Better than a dishonourable discharge," Janet handed Emma back to her mother, "which they could have done. Could have said you should've reacted to the situation in the 'proper military manner' and kept saluting and 'sir-ing'."

"We could have both lost our jobs completely…" she gently smoothed some of fair hair on her daughter's head back into place.

"But would you rather have your job or your kids?"

"In all honesty?"

"Of course."

Sam smiled slightly, "If I could, I wish I could've imitated Jack and told them to shove it. Then I would've run for my life," she joked.

"They did go too far, asking him to detail _your_ 'inappropriate' behaviour. He had every right to tell them where to stick it. Can't believe he got away with that though," she laughed.

"They need you. Both of you. Jack could've tap-danced on the president's desk and just got a reprimand," Daniel wandered in from the garden and sat down in one of the available chairs in Jack's living room.

"Don't tell him that!" Sam warned, shaking her head, hiding a smile. She glanced around, "Where's Ryan?"

"Garden, with Jack. He's teaching him how to barbecue. Of course, he won't let Ryan within ten feet of the barbecue, so he's shouting instructions…"

"And let me guess, Teal'c is fielding any attempts by Ryan to get closer to the barbecue?" Janet questioned.

"'Indeed', as would be said."

"…So…" she began again, "In a month, you've actually lived six years, we've all got Ryan and Emma to look out for now, you're 'Doctor Carter' again, and the General…well…he's still the General…only older and actually slightly less cranky…"

"Ryan's turned him into a child again," Sam smiled.

"Again?" Daniel echoed.

About to reply, she jumped when she heard a knock at the door. Sam stood up, headed to answer it, when Ryan ran straight past her, determined to reach it before she did.

"Where did you spring from?" she exclaimed, opening the door for him rather than watching him struggle with the handle.

"The garden," he piped up, gazing up at the two figures outside, "Hello!"

Sam's eyes widened, not at the sight of the first figure, but the second, "Hello, Sir," she greeted General Hammond, "What brings you here?" she flushed a light shade of red as her eyes rested on her second guest, "Hey…Dad…"

But Jacob was staring at his grandson and not at his daughter.

"I thought you two had a lot to catch up on…" Hammond explained, a little uncomfortable. Somehow he could already see himself back commanding the SGC for another few years, not just the weeks requested of him whilst his replacement and the Colonel recovered, "The Tok'ra contacted us and I know you're both on parental leave, but…"

"No, no, of course," Sam nodded, unable to move or invite them in, glad Ryan was standing his ground in the face of strangers but worried about her father's reaction.

Jacob knelt down, "You must be Ryan."

The boy nodded, "Who're you?" he questioned.

He smiled, "…I'm your grandfather."

Ryan frowned, thinking, "…So…Mama or Daddy's…daddy?"

"Your mother's," he nodded.

"You see Em. She's small, but she cries real loud."

"Is that so?" Jacob stood, noting the changes in his daughter, and the tiny bundle in her arms, "…So they weren't kidding me then?"

"No," Sam replied, "They weren't," she supported Emma with one arm and reached to tuck Ryan closer to her, "These are your grandchildren. …Jack and I have children. Though I guess they told you nearly everything…" she managed to step aside, "Come in, Sir, Dad."

Ryan ran back inside the house and flung himself at Daniel, jumping up onto the chair, "I got a grandfather."

"Do I get one too?" Daniel quipped, hugging the boy.

"Nah, silly, he's mine."

Jack and Teal'c chose that moment to wander back into the kitchen, the former carrying a plate of charcoal that had formerly been sausages, "Slight accident, kids!" he warned. He stopped dead as he caught sight of Jacob, "…I…hmm…hey, Jake…"

Janet stood up, "Hey, Sir, have a seat…" she gestured to Hammond, anticipating an awkward silence.

Sam glanced between her husband and her father, opting to field the closest, "…Dad, you want to hold Emma?" she didn't give him a choice, depositing her daughter in his arms and stepping back.

Jacob was still in shock as he gazed down at his granddaughter. As he had instantly seen Jack's features in Ryan, he saw a young Sam in the baby he held. Seeing his daughter with her son, aged since he had last seen her, with longer hair, a look he hadn't seen on her in years, was enough of a shock; now he held her baby daughter. A faint smile appeared on his face, one that vanished as he quickly handed the baby to Janet, "Sam, a word."

"Jacob, don't you dare start on her," Jack stated, ready to defend her.

"Just be glad I'm not demanding an answer from you."

"You have no right-"

"Jack, leave it," Sam insisted, "Its fine. Dad, garden?" she turned and led the way, silently.

Janet rocked Emma gently, eyes downcast.

"If he even-" Jack began.

"Let them talk," Daniel interrupted.

"Samantha O'Neill will hold her ground," Teal'c nodded. Everyone present simply stared at him.

"…That's the first time I've heard her name like that…" her husband said quietly.

"Sounds good," Janet smiled.

Silence descended on the room again, broken by Ryan, "…Where's the food?"

* * *

"Dad, you can't come into his house and behave like this," Sam began, turning to face her father, shaking her head, exasperated, "Things have changed. Six years. _Six years_ we've been gone. I know it was only a few hours for everyone else, but it wasn't for us. We lived. We survived. We had a family. I _married_ him. Because I l_ove_ him, not because I had to. And you know what? I'd rather have lived those six years like that than have carried on living like I was. That wasn't living. That was existing. I love my kids and I love my husband, we've been through hell and had to explain ourselves to enough people already. So I'm not explaining myself to you. I don't expect you to like it, but I do expect you to live with it. And if you can't…" she sighed, "Then leave now. I don't want Ryan getting to know an absent grandfather." 

Jacob just stared at her for a long moment, "Are you quite finished?"

"I think so."

"I was just going to ask if you were happy, you know?"

She looked quite ashamed of herself for a moment, "…Could've pre-empted me before I said all that…"

"You had the whole speech thing going. Shame to ruin it," he shrugged, "You answered the question anyway," he smiled.

Sam suddenly flung herself at her father, hugging him tightly, "I missed you."

"I always miss you," Jacob wrapped his arms around his daughter, "and now I've got two more grandchildren to miss too."

"…Sam? You okay?" it was Jack's voice at the side door to the house, Emma in his arms.

"Food not 'possed to be black!" Ryan ran straight past him, headed for his mother.

Sam caught him and whirled him into the air, spinning round, "Daddy can't cook, huh? Well, neither can Mama!"

Jack wandered to meet them, "I can cook better than you can!"

"Charcoal," she taunted, grinning, forgetting her father was there for a moment.

He regarded Jacob with a hesitant gaze, "…Its not really charcoal, its edible on the inside…" he shrugged, with no idea what to say.

"You better damn well take care of them," Jacob stated.

"With respect, Sam can take care of herself, and I'm sure she wouldn't have otherwise said of her," Jack answered, "…But I have. And I will."

"I know you will. I wouldn't leave her in the care of anyone else," he nodded silently and started to make his way back toward the house.

Jack turned back to face his wife, "Well…2004 what you expected it to be?" he smiled.

Ryan reached out to gently smooth Emma's hair and nodded to himself, looking up at his parents.

Sam shook her head and rested it against their son's, smiling brightly, "No. Not at all. And that's what I love about it."

**Fin**


End file.
